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Mulled Wine recipe
(in French: Vin Chaud)
Ingredients for
6 glasses:
- 1 bottle red wine (750
ml)
- 2 ounces (60 g) brown
sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6 ml)
cloves
- 1 teaspoon (6 ml)
ground nutmeg
- 1 cinnamon stick (if
you don't have a stick, use 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
- 1 bay leaf
- Half an orange
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Preparation
Time: 5 Minute |
Cooking Time: 10 Minutes |
Recipe:
-
Pour the
wine into a medium-sized pot
-
Squeeze the
half orange to get the juice and add it to the wine
-
Cut the
remaining orange peel into slices and add it to the wine
-
Add the
remaining ingredients to the wine
-
Heat the wine
until it is warm / hot (depending on preference). However, on no
account should it boil. Stir occasionally.
-
Once warm/hot,
serve immediately.
For a rustic
drink, leave the lemon peel and other ingredients in. If your
guests prefer a less rustic drink, the mulled wine can be
strained to remove the bits (cloves, orange peel, etc.) before
serving.
Notes:
There is no need
to use a good wine for mulled wine. Heating the wine and adding
the spices will change the taste so much that the subtle tastes
of a fine wine would be completely lost in any case. So, any
reasonably palatable wine that is not too expensive is suitable.
Some people prefer a
strong-tasting rustic wine for mulled wine, others a lighter and
more fruity wine. As this is a matter of personal taste, either
is acceptable.
It is absolutely essential that
the wine does not boil. It should be warm (it is not necessary
to be overly hot), but if allowed to boil the taste will almost
certainly be ruined.
The mulled wine can be served in
either a glass or a mug. However, if it is hot (rather than
warm), guests will probably prefer a mug. In any case, as this
is a rustic drink, a fine wine glass would be inappropriate.
There are a huge number of
different recipes for mulled wine. Although all add spices, some
add only a little for taste whereas other recipes add so much
one can taste almost nothing but the spice. Some add a couple
spices, other a dozen or more different spices. Most add fruit.
Many add sugar (or sweet equivalents, such as honey). Some add
spirits (such as brandy) or liquors, producing a more alcoholic
drink. Some even add tea (herbal or otherwise). Usually the wine
is red, but some people use white. Feel free to change the
ingredients to match your own preferences, as there is no
"official" version of "mulled wine".
History:
The word "mulled" means heated
and spiced. Various different drinks have traditionally been
mulled: wine, cider, and mead are common examples. Today, mulled
wine is the best known.
Mulled wine is an ancient drink
(written recipes date back to Roman times) which has survived to
modern times. It is known in many countries. In France it is
known as "vin chaud" (hot wine), in Germany as "Glühwein"
(glowing wine), in Italy as "vin brulé" (burnt wine), in Poland
"Grzane Wino" (heated wine), in Slovakia "Varené vino" (boiled
wine), in Hungary "Forralt bor" (boiled wine). The international
popularity and long history of this drink is due to:
-
It
is an enjoyable drink and provides an alternative flavour to
other drinks.
-
Being warm, it is particularly enjoyable on a cold day (or
evening). For this reason it is generally served in winter.
Nowadays, it is mainly served around the Christmas period as
a festive drink.
-
In
olden days, if wine had gone off, it could still be made
into a palatable drink by heating it with spices and honey.
Nowadays, an inferior wine can still be used to make a
reasonable tasting mulled wine.
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